For the past few years Nathan Charles has worshiped with us. He recently decided to serve with Mennonite Central Committee in Bangladesh for the next three years. Below is his latest letter.
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Greetings from Bangladesh!
The month of October has come and gone so very quickly and now here I am, jet lagged in Dhaka. After leaving IBM and North Carolina at the beginning of this month I ran around trying to visit as many people as I could in the little time I had left. I went camping in Lancaster, visited EMU for homecoming, took a quick jaunt up to NYC and made it to Messiah’s Homecoming soccer game all before orientation started on the 21st. Orientation lasted 10 days and was held at MCC’s Welcoming Place in Akron. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Welcoming Place it is MCC’s answer to a retreat center–made up of several small dorms, each named and decorated after a continent arrayed around a dining hall and assembly hall. After finishing orientation I took a British Airways flight to England to spend 3 days on a very quick trip to Cheltenham and wandering around London. From there BA 145 took me to Dhaka this morning, arriving late enough ( or early depending on perspective) that just as I was falling asleep I was startled by the 5am morning call to prayers. I did get a few hours of sleep before a morning cup of tea and starting Language Study. Which leads me to our Bengali lesson:
Apni kemon achen? – How are you?
Ami Klanto Achi – I am tired.
Blessings,
Nathan Charles